UXM: Humanity's Sanction
by Ryan Krupienski
Summary: Issues 21-22 & Annual 2 - Humanity's Sanction. The X-Men's final showdown with Graydon Creed and the Friends of Humanity!
1. 21

**Summary:** Issues _#21-22_ & _Annual #2_ - _Humanity's Sanction_. The X-Men's final showdown with Graydon Creed and the Friends of Humanity!

**Notes:** These ones are grouped together because they make up a three-part storyarc. This is the big kahuna! Lots of different characters pop up in the coming chapters, and a lot of people die too. Hehe :)

**Cast:** Phoenix, Beast, Cecilia Reyes, Bolt, Moonstar, Marrow, Kwannon, Skin, Erica Shen, Cameron Dalin, Peter Valentino, Jacqueline Chandler, Graydon Creed, Prime Sentinels

**Original Post Date:** Early November 2001

**Disclaimer:** The X-Men belong to Marvel Comics and are used in this story solely for non-profit entertainment purposes.

* * * * * 

  


"Scrambled"  
Humanity's Sanction Part 1

  


* * * * *

**_Seattle_**

Graydon Creed sits alone in his small, quaint office, located on the first sub-basement level of the abandoned sanitarium that now serves as his base of operations. From his position in the gray, fabric, swivel chair he occupies, he looks out of the window portion of his office walls and can see a section of the mutant containment area. Rows of cells running along the walls, cells stacked on top of each other, all lined with steel bars that emit a power-dampening field.

Sometimes he thinks it's too easy... capturing the mutants should be more of a challenge. Not that he cares all that much, but one would think that the supposed next step in human evolution could put up more of a fight. It just helps Graydon convince himself more and more that mutants aren't stronger or more advanced, they're simply genetic abberations, and he means to eradicate every last one of them.

Graydon turns around in his chair to face his desk, which is more or less a big computer console with a few monitors built into the table top. From here, he can do virtually anything... dispatch Prime Sentinels, track down and/or contact any of his operatives, look at a layout of the compound complete with heat sensors to see where people are, activate the gas chambers inside the mutant holding cells... it's almost like, when confined to this one room, he's omniponent. Not that he wants to stay cooped up in here all the time, though, as he's certainly not a recluse or one of those shadowy behind-the-scenes leaders.

_"Mister Creed,"_ a voice says from one of the speakers imbedded in Graydon's console, _"sir, you're not going to believe this... we've found them."_

Graydon's eyes widen in surprise and pleasure upon hearing the news, and he immediately responds, "Are you absolutely sure? How?"

_"The dumb freaks took a Prime Sentinel home with them,"_ the voice responds, obviously amused. _"The tracking device led us right to them. We're dispatching a team now to take them out."_

Graydon smiles wickedly, leaning back in his chair and pressing his hands together into a pyramid. "Excellent. Make sure you get every last one of them... I want the X-Men wiped out once and for all."

* * * * *

**_The Xavier Institute_**

Seven individuals sit around the oval-shaped metal table at the center of the round, dimly-lit room, their eyes shifting back and forth between the blue and furry form of Henry McCoy, standing at the head of the table decked out in a white lab coat, and the holographic image of a dismembered Prime Sentinel in the middle of the table. Jean Grey, Cecilia Reyes, Danielle Moonstar, the young woman called Marrow, the woman known only as Kwannon, and their guests, Mutant Underground operatives Erica Shen and Cameron Dalin, were all called into this meeting - their second of the day - just ten minutes ago. Henry has finished his examination of the Prime Sentinel that was brought back to the mansion by Dani, Kwannon, and their guests several hours ago, and while he was working away, Erica and Cameron filled the other X-Men in on the situation with the Friends Of Humanity and on the fact that Graydon Creed is alive and kicking. The purpose of this meeting now is to determine how much of a threat the Friends Of Humanity pose, and what the best way to deal with that threat may be.

"Ladies - and gentleman - as you know, I've concluded my initial analysis of the Prime Sentinel you see projected on the table before you," Henry begins after he clears his throat. "The models that the Friends Of Humanity have employed are quite primitive in comparison to the ones used by Operation Zero Tolerance. Whether the Friends stole the technology or developed their own version, I'm uncertain, but as far as weapons and defense systems go, these are a substantially lesser threat."

Henry's voice has a grim tone to it as he speaks, and all can notice this as he continues, "Studying what information we have on Bastion's Prime Sentinels, I've deduced that these models have a higher percentage of body tissue that has been replaced by machine parts. They're more like machines that have been covered with a human epidermis. Think _The Terminator_."

If that was a joke, no one's laughing, nor does Henry expect them too. "However, my friends, there is one thing that makes these Sentinels potentially more dangerous than any other kind we've ever faced. Bastion's Prime Sentinels were programmed and could be mentally controlled through computer commands... not the case with these. These Prime Sentinels are entirely free of any sort of programming or mind control, they are one-hundred percent sentient."

There is a stunned silence in the room, even a few gasps, as the realization of how far the enemy is willing to go washes over everyone. Men and woman, willingly signing up to have their bodies desecrated and transformed into machines, all the while having their minds fully intact, their will completely their own. From what Erica and Cameron have said, there may be hundreds - even thousands - of these cyborg soldiers. How can the X-Men and their newfound allies take down an enemy like that without having to take any lives? They've been in similar predicaments before, but never has it seemed so dire.

"So what you're saying... is that we're fighting human beings, people with body enhancements who still have their own free will," Dani finally says, breaking the silence with her slightly sorrowful voice. "The way I was tearing through them... no regard for their lives..."

"Hey, don't get down on yourself," Cecilia cuts in, "it's not like they have any regard for _your_ life. They were trying to kill you, for goodness sakes! And you had children to protect, to boot."

"She's right, Danielle," Kwannon agrees with a nod. "They would have killed us. We did what we had to. To save innocent lives, we sometimes have to do things that aren't always easy, which includes taking the lives of others."

"Years ago, I would have contested that until I was blue in the face." Jean stops for a moment, taking a deep breath and briefly closing her eyes. "But in this day and age... we do what we have to."

Only Henry is somewhat phased by Jean's seemingly edgier demeanor. The Jean he knows is passionate about life and its preservation and could never kill anyone, even though her dark avatar once consumed an entire solar system. However, he figures that recent events - losing one of her twins, Charles' deception, Scott's behavior - are playing the major role in getting his friend's spirits down. Oh, but there's one other thing, too...

"So what if we kill them? Big whoop," Marrow says in her shrill voice, annoyed at the even small amount of compassion being shown for the enemy. "All they want to do is kill us all, they deserve to die if you ask me!"

"No one _did_ ask you, Marrow," Jean replies coldly. "But I will ask you... what have you done with my husband? He's gone missing, for those of you who don't know, and I even checked with Bobby and Ororo to see if he'd maybe accompanied them on their mission. He's not with them, and neither is Adam."

"Hey, if your _pooh bear_ left and his baby brother went with him, it's not my problem," Marrow taunts, snickering as she props her feet up on the table. "Who knows, maybe he went to take care of his little problem once and for all..."

Jean grimaces at Marrow's comment and stands up quickly from her chair. "You have something to tell me?" she says angrily.

"Only that you should take more care of your precious hubby," Marrow hisses back, also rising from her seat. "Maybe if you hadn't lost one of the sausages, he wouldn't have started on the road to insanity."

"MARROW!" Cecilia yells, mortified at that last comment, and by this time everyone is up on their feet. "You shut your damn...!"

"It's okay, Cecilia," Jean says calmly, motioning for her friend to back down as she herself walks around to the other side of the table to confront Marrow. "I can handle this one. I've dealt with much worse."

Marrow half-grins, half-sneers as she meets the redhead face-to-face. "Ooooh, is that supposed to scare me, Miss Mighty Phoenix?"

"You've been nothing but trouble since you first joined this team," Jean begins, still keeping her cool. "And ever since Scott and I lost our son, you've been trying to seduce my husband. It's _sick_, Marrow... _you're_ sick. You disgust me. I truly feel sorry that a place like the Morlock Tunnels was ever sullied by your presence."

Marrow growls loudly as she tears a bone shard from her wrist and brings it up to Jean's neck. "Shut up, you pompous beauty queen...!"

Not taking kindly to Marrow's actions, Jean activates her telekinesis and sends the younger but taller pink-skinned woman slamming into the cold steel wall behind her. Jean's eyes narrow viciously as she approaches the pinned Marrow, who struggles against the invisible restraint, but to no avail.

"You listen to me, you twisted little bitch," Jean says, her very tone more enough to scare Marrow, though the young woman won't show it. "You quit these games, right now, and you tell me where my husband is, or so help me God... I'll finish the job Ororo started and rip your _other_ heart out!"

* * * * *

Two levels up on the ground floor of the Xavier Institute, five other individuals occupy the mansion's spacious living room, sitting around it in the big black leather couch and matching chairs. For Chris Bradley and the baby girl in his arms, Rachel Summers, this place is called home, but for Angelo Espinosa, Peter Valentino, and Jacqueline Chandler, this place is merely a sanctuary, somewhere they can be safe from the threat of the Friends Of Humanity.

"I should be in that meeting," Chris grumbles softly to himself as he gently bounces baby Rachel on his knee, holding her under her arms.

"Cheer up, dude," Peter, sitting next to Chris, says. "You get to hang out with the baby, what could be better than that?" Peter coos at the baby and holds his finger out for her to grab onto. She does just that and smiles widely while making that gurgly giggle sound that babies make. "Hehe, yeah, good baby."

Chris feels an awkwardness wash over him; this is a strange picture, him and Peter here with the baby like this. Angelo, who sits to the side of the couch in one of the chairs, doesn't seem to notice, nor does Jacqueline, who sits next to Peter on the couch. Angelo's just trying to relax and get rid of the headache that's plaguing him, and as for Jacqueline, well, she just wants to go home. So what else is new?

"This place is okay and all, but give me a break," Jacqueline whines. "Where's the damn color? It's so plain, so dark... it's as depressing as being a damn mutant!"

"Maybe that's the point, chica," Angelo responds, "but no one really cares. Please, just shut up already."

"Don't tell me to shut up, you prick!" Jacqueline snaps, succeeding in turning all attention to herself. "You've been giving me shit for no good reason since the moment we met... what's your damn problem?!"

"You been bitching non-stop, that's my problem!" Angelo snaps back, louder this time. "Sorry you don't like it here, even if it _is_ the only place you're actually safe, and sorry if you don't think any of us are up to your high-and-mighty standards, but with all due respect, you can blow me."

Upon hearing Angelo's last comment, Peter breaks out laughing, and even Chris snickers a bit. "Oh MAN!" Peter exclaims, slapping his knee in the process. "That was too good! I mean, with her powers and all... HA!"

"Go to hell, you fag!" Jacqueline hisses, immediately silencing everyone and getting a puzzled look from Peter. "Oh please, don't even try to deny it... you so totally were checking out Cameron during our little road trip, you still can't wait to get his pants down! And now you're drooling over _him_," she says, pointing to Chris. "Why don't you just hand out invitations to every guy in this place to do you up the ass and get it over with!"

"Nah, I'm sure they'd like someone a bit looser, like you," Peter replies, keeping his cool much to Jacqueline's chagrin. "You can do that whole five-in-one special, and I'm just not that talented."

Jacqueline's eyes widen in shock and her mouth hangs open as Peter's words sink in. Never before has she met anyone who could stand up to her like this, and though she would rather dig her eye out with a spoon than admit it, it turns her on. Since that fantasy isn't going to come true, obviously, she'll have to compensate by being her usual bitchy self, and then some.

"Screw you!" Jacqueline says angrily, punching Peter in the arm just before she rises from the couch and storms out of the room.

"OW! You bitch!" Peter grabs his arm, which is throbbing like hell thanks to the assault on it. He's still healing from being shot by that Prime Sentinel, and even though his body can regenerate itself, it's a rather slow process.

"Hey, can you all shut up now?" Chris says in a demanding voice, bringing the whimpering baby he holds to his chest. He gently pats her head and does his best to calm her down. "The baby doesn't need to hear you two fighting, okay?" With that last comment, Chris gets up from the couch and slowly walks around the living room, still trying to calm Rachel down.

Peter just shakes his head and sighs, and after a moment catches Angelo staring at him absently. "What?"

"Was she right?" Angelo asks simply, digging his hands into each of the chair's armrests. "Are you...?"

"Heh, yeah," Peter says with a bit of a chuckle. In a way, he finds it hilarious how guys react to him when the big secret is revealed. "Don't worry though, I'm not gonna jump you."

"Yeah, no worries, hombre," Angelo says with a nod. "I'm cool with gay people. Especially lesbians."

"Of course." Peter laughs this time and rolls his eyes, and from that point on, he and Angelo sit there, chatting away like friends.

* * * * *

**_The War Room_**

"Well, what's it going to be, Marrow?" Jean says angrily, still pinning her aforementioned teammate against the cold steel War Room wall with her telekinesis. "You want to die for real this time?"

"JEAN!" coms the voices of Henry, who instantly places his hands on his friend's shoulders in an effort to calm her. "Stop this, right now! You're too riled up, you have no idea what you're saying!"

"Back off, Hank! I know exactly..." Jean's words trail off into nothingness as she locks eyes Marrow; she can see the terror in the young woman's eyes. Jean gasps, also deactivating her telekinesis, and brings a trembling hand up to her forehead. "My God, what am I doing...?"

Henry moves one of his blue-furred hands to Jean's back and gently massages it, soothing her with the words, "It's alright, Jean, just relax."

"No, it's not alright!" Marrow yells angrily, rubbing the back of her neck. "Psycho tried to kill me!"

"Right, let's forget how you tried to slit her throat open a few minutes ago," Cecilia says wryly from her place next to Henry. "Just back off, girlfriend."

"I ain't your 'girlfriend'..."

"Excuse me, everyone," comes another female voice from behind the small group. The X-Men all turn in the voice's direction to see Erica standing near the oval table, Cameron by her side. "I hate to sound cold, but we have more important matters to attend to. Certainly this is not how Charles Xavier runs his operation."

"Well Charles isn't here right now, obviously," Dani quips. "Trust me, things aren't usually like this..."

"Look, I apologize," Jean interrupts, addressing everyone in the room. "I let this get out of hand. I'm just extremely worried about my husband."

"Yeah, right," Marrow mutters under her breath, earning her an angry glare and a gentle punch in the side from Cecilia.

"Zip it," Cecilia whispers in a demanding tone.

"We all are, Jean," Henry reassure his longtime friend, "but Erica is right... at this time, we have to focus on rescuing all the mutants that Creed's people have kidnapped. We have to bring down the Friends Of Humanity's entire operation. Scott's a smart and resourceful man... I don't think we have to worry about him. I promise you, though, when this is over, we will find him."

Jean sighs as she mulls over Henry's words. He's right, of course; the Friends Of Humanity have potentially hundreds of mutants in captivity, ready to be executed. As much as she hates it, freeing those mutants - those _people_ - takes precedence over finding her husband. She'd expect Scott to realize the same if she was the one missing.

"You're right," Jean finally confesses. "We'll worry about Scott later... it's time to show those bigots what happens when you mess with the X-Men."

* * * * *

One level down, right outside the Morlock Tunnels entrance to the Xavier Institute, an uninvited guest has arrived. Dressed from head to toe in a dark, navy blue bodysuit, he blends in almost perfectly with the shadows as he stalks towards the round, metallic door that sits firmly along the dank, dreary wall before him.

Under his right arm he holds a shining silver orb, about the size of a soccer ball, and in his left hand is a small device resembling a pen, also made of metal. The man arrives at the round doorway and holds the device in his hand up to the door and presses its small button. A beam of hard, red light shoots forth from the tip and strikes at the center of the door, starting to cut its way through. The man runs the laser up the door then down, creating a perfect incision in the middle from top to bottom. The residue from the laser energy starts to finish the job, expanding from the middle of the door and eating away at the rest of it.

The man pockets the laser and uses his now-free hand to press a touch-sensitive communication pad on his chest. "Amira here. You there, Lyson?"

_"Right here. You in?"_

"Yeah, just calling to let you know I'm on my way in... I'll plant this sucker and call you back when I'm clear," Amira responds.

_"Sounds good. Can't want to see the freaks go up in smoke, eh?"_

"No shit," Amira chuckles. "Okay, I'm goin' in. Amira out." He touches the communicator on his chest once more to turn it off, and grins as he steps through the wide open doorway.

Things are about to get ugly.

* * * * *

Continued in _#22_, "Breaking & Entering"


	2. 22

**Summary:** Issues _#21-22_ & _Annual #2_ - _Humanity's Sanction_. The X-Men's final showdown with Graydon Creed and the Friends of Humanity!

**Notes:** This is issue _#22_. Just a warning, things start to get a little gory this issue, but it's still within the FF.net guidelines.

**Cast:** Phoenix, Beast, Cecilia Reyes, Bolt, Moonstar, Marrow, Kwannon, Skin, Erica Shen, Cameron Dalin, Peter Valentino, Jacqueline Chandler, Graydon Creed, Prime Sentinels; also with Callisto, Neophyte, Unuscione, Phantazia, Ruckus, and Sunpyre.

**Original Post Date:** Late November 2001

**Disclaimer:** The X-Men belong to Marvel Comics and are used in this story solely for non-profit entertainment purposes.

* * * * * 

  


"Breaking & Entering"  
Humanity's Sanction Part 2

  


* * * * *

It's been about thirty minutes since the meeting in the War Room ended, and Marrow now finds herself stalking around the third sub-basement level of the Xavier Institute. There's not much down here except the mansion's power generators and the entrance to the Morlock Tunnels. It's the only place Marrow feels she truly fits in at this fancy upworlder estate.

She hates that woman, Jean Grey. She's the worst of them. She has looks, brains, power, the respect and love of many, and she has a beautiful family. Yet she wastes her time crying and feeling sorry for herself... it makes Marrow sick. Try living in a hellish dimension where you have to fight and kill every single day just to survive; no one is your friend, everyone is out to get you. Imagine you're a young teenage girl, and all you have to help you survive in a place like that are jagged bone daggers that tear through your skin and cause you pain for every waking moment of your miserable life.

Marrow's seen horrors that the other X-Men can't begin to imagine. Her whole life has been one big, vicious, bloody fight, perhaps that's why she can't help but always be confrontational with her supposed teammates; but whatever. It's not like she gives a shit anyway.

As Marrow walks through the dark, wide corridors, her senses suddenly perk up; someone else is here. Someone who's not supposed to be, she can tell, as the movement is slow and careful. Whoever this is, he or she is right around the corner.

Silently, Marrow reaches behind her back and pulls out a long bone shard, grimacing slightly in pain as it slides free from her body, leaving another open wound to heal. She presses herself against the cold steel wall and starts creeping towards the hallway intersection; the intruder is doing the same.

In a split second, Marrow turns the corner and grabs the individual by the neck, squeezing tightly and presenting the added threat of a razor-sharp bone dagger. The individual - a man - drops the round, metal object under his arm, and it hits the sterile floor with a slight clunk. The man gasps for breath behind his ski mask as Marrow studies the fear in his eyes.

Just like Jean had seen the fear in Marrow's eyes earlier. Except this time, the threat of death is much more real. Unlike her teammates, Marrow has no qualms about killing, especially when it comes to normal human beings like she figures this one might be.

"Hello there," Marrow mocks the man. "Who the hell are you?"

The man coughs hoarsely, indicating that he can't breathe well enough to talk, and Marrow loosens her grips around his neck just a tad. "L-Let me g-go," he says between violent coughs, "m-mutant scumfuck!"

"Figures," Marrow groans, and with that she raises the bone dagger above her head, ready to strike the man down. Instinctively, the man reacts to save himself, and manages to swing an arm up and nail Marrow on the side of her head. The attack disorients her for a moment, causing her to releases her grip on the human's neck.

Still hacking, the man follows up with another punch, but he misses, and Marrow grabs his fist, holding it and his arm in the air as she uses the dagger in her other hand to lift his mask off his head. She snickers as his face is revealed in the dim light. "Oh, you're an ugly one, too."

The next thing the man knows, a sharp pain cuts through his torso, and he looks down at himself to see Marrow's bone shard impaled into his chest. He gasps, his eyes wide, and takes a final look at Marrow before slipping away and dropping to the floor.

Marrow rolls her eyes as she looks at the man's dead body and gives it a swift kick in the side. Just then, her gaze moves and falls upon the small metal orb the intruder brought with him. She eyes it suspiciously, wondering what it could be. She doesn't care, though, all she knows is that she's going to break it into lots of tiny pieces.

Removing her bone dagger from the man's bleeding chest, Marrow puts it to good use once more and rams it into the metal orb, and the sphere's inside subsequently short-circuit in a small display of electric sparks. "Hmph," Marrow says as she rises up from the floor.

Marrow decides she should go find her teammates and let them know what happened, though she knows they'll be none too pleased with her method of handling the situation. To hell with them, though, she did what she had to.

Marrow's train of thought is suddenly interrupted as a loud rumbling, likely coming from the ground level, emanates throughout the third sub-basement level. There is a bit of a vibration as well, though not nearly enough to, say, knock Marrow off her feet. The former Morlock immediately darts down the wide hallway she originally came from and towards the elevator shaft. Arriving at the cylindric door, she quickly presses the button next to it and boards the elevator as soon as it opens. She presses another button inside and rides it to the ground level, anxious to see what's transpiring upstairs.

The elevator arrives at the ground floor and Marrow rushes out and towards the source of the sounds, which are even louder now. She darts down the hallway and turns the corner once, heading for the main foyer, and when she arrives she sees exactly what's causing all the ruckus - a large squad of Prime Sentinels, around two dozen, standing inside the freshly-made gap at the front of the mansion.

"Marrow," Beast calls from nearby, noticing his teammate's arrival, "there's a lot of them, more outside."

Marrow glares angrily at the gathering of cyborgs, replying to Beast, "Oh, it don't matter how many there are... I'm gonna tear every last one apart!"

* * * * *

On the other side of the country, deep within the heart of the Friends Of Humanity's headquarters in Seattle, Graydon Creed walks through the mutant holding pens - the 'freak zoo' as he and his followers like to call it. The pens are dirty, dank, and cold, and very cramped. Cells line both of the long walls of the room, running across horizontally as well as stacking on top of one another. Upon first glance, it might seem like there are thousands of mutants, as the pen almost seems to go on forever in every direction, but that would just be the old trick the mind plays, blowing everything out of proportion when awe kicks in. In truth, there are close to three hundred prisoners here, which still isn't a small number by any means, considering that pretty much all of said prisoners are slated to die.

Creed's expression is smug as he slowly paces past the cells, glancing around at the various mutants with pure disgust in his eyes. All the prisoners are silent, not wanting to give their captors the satisfaction of seeing them riled up, and others are simply frightened of what will happen if they open their mouths. Oh, and then there's the ones who got bored and fell asleep.

"Well, animals," Creed taunts, his voice echoing throughout the room, "I have some _wonderful_ news, and I thought you all should get to hear it. Your executions have been delayed for the time being. Why, you might ask?"

Creed chuckles to himself then continues, "Well, my devoted followers are busy cleaning out another mutant infestation in New York - the X-Men. As I stand here speaking to you, over two dozen Prime Sentinels are killing off the very last of them, and that will be followed by a nanotech device being detonated from the very heart of their mutant freak sanctum. So, that means that any of you who had a conflict with those miscreants don't have to worry about them anymore. Not that you'll live long enough to care, though."

There are some audible reactions to the news, and many feel any hope of escaping sink into oblivion. Many of the captives were counting on someone - the X-Men, X-Force, X-Factor, hell, even Magneto - to come free them, but if the X-Men themselves are going down, what chance does anyone else have?

Of course, many have their doubts about the legitimacy of Creed's story. Many of the captives have had encounters of some sort with the X-Men, and can't believe that Creed's shoddy Prime Sentinels will be a greater threat than the ones Bastion employed during Operation: Zero Tolerance. Not to mention that, really, the X-Men are pretty impossible to take out.

Neophyte and Unuscione are both former Acolytes of Magneto, gifted with the abilities to phase through solid matter and create and manipulate a psionic exoskeleton, respectively. Both have fought against and with the X-Men and know first-hand how very formidable they are, and even though Unuscione is not particularly fond of them, she knows as well as her former teammate that they don't go down easily.

Ruckus, formerly under the employ of Sinister, and Phantazia, one-time member of the Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants and Mutant Libertaion Front, haven't actually ever encountered the X-Men. Judging from their encounters with X-Factor and X-Force, though, the man with the deadly vocal cords and the woman who manipulates bio-electric energy both are more than sure that the X-Men will not be taken out by the Friends Of Humanity.

Leyu Yoshida, called Sunpyre, has also never encountered the X-Men, though her older brother Shiro, Sunfire, may count as he is a former member of the mutant team. She is blessed with her brother's same ability to ionize air molecules into heat energy, she even learned to control it using some techniques that Charles Xavier himself passed onto Shiro. She knows the X-Men are very much a force to be reckoned with, and is confident they'll arrive here in no time.

Callisto, one-time leader of the Morlocks, has had more personal relations with the X-Men. She's known them for years, fought against and alongside them, even lived at their estate. There's no doubt in her mind that they'll be here soon to shut Creed up. For her newest charge, the telepath called Ever, the sooner the better, as his body - made up almost entirely of brain matter - is not fairing well against the power dampeners.

These mutants and many others present are highly doubtful that Creed's claims hold any truth, though just as many and more think just the opposite, or couldn't care less. However, no one chooses to voice their thoughts, as they figure it would be pointless and maybe even dangerous to do such a thing. One of the captives, though, has no fear, and decides to speak her mind.

"Nice story," comes a dry, female voice, "but if you expect me to believe that your hack-job Sentinels are even a match for the X-Men, you're even more of a moron than I originally thought."

Creed turns his head in the direction of the voice and finds the scraggly, black-haired Callisto sitting in one of the bottom row cells, her expression half-angry, half-amused. Creed walks up to the cell, tilting his head downward to look at the mutant woman. "Is that so? Of course a Morlock would think so highly of the X-Men, since you are, in fact, the lowest form of the mutant abberation there is..."

"I'm going to tear your heart out, human," Callisto says matter-of-factly. She smiles menacingly at Creed and adds, "Me, or someone else," then silences herself, content to have threatened the man.

She's about to discover what a mistake that was.

Creed shakes his head as he reaches under his jacket and pulls out a small, black pistol. Even upon seeing this, Callisto does not flinch. "Oh, a gun. How positively _human_. I'm not afraid to die."

Creed wastes no time and empties a clip into Callisto, painting the inside of her cell with blood and innards. This time there are some very loud gasps and a new wave of fear sent through the captives, though many still refuse to be intimidated.

"Animals don't understand the concept of death," Creed says to the dead body as he holsters his gun. "Guards, get this shit cleaned up."

As two guards approach the cell, Creed suddenly stops them. "Wait," he says, "I've changed my mind. Leave it there... I want the rest of these freaks to have a constant reminder of what's in store for them."

* * * * *

**_The Xavier Institute_**

Letting out an almost inhuman battle cry, Marrow rips into the cyborgs surrounding her with sheer ferociousness, not holding back any of her killer instincts. None of the X-Men can afford to hold back, and as she glances around at her teammates, Marrow notices they seem to be following her lead, hitting the Prime Sentinels with everything they have. She smiles at this; it's about time they came around.

Using the bone daggers occupying both of her hands, Marrow swipes and slashes at the quartet of Prime Sentinels that have surrounded her. The first one's throat is sliced open, cutting off the circuits in the brain to the rest of its mechanical body, automatically rendering it non-functional, and a second cyborg is stabbed clear through the chest, with sparks and wires flailing about wildly after the deed is done. As their partners fall to the ground, the remaining Sentinels both go for Marrow's throat at once and catch her off-guard, causing her to drop her weapons. Instead of trying to reach for the daggers, the young woman improvises, clasping one hand each to the heads of her attackers and smashing their steel skulls together. The clang of metal is followed by the Sentinels' eyes flickering then their bodies dropping to the ground.

As Marrow gets back on her feet and surveys her work momentarily before going back into the fray, Beast and Cecilia, their backs to each other, battle against seven Prime Sentinels. Working together comes natural for them, they're the perfect team; they cured the Legacy Virus together, for one thing, and all their hours training together in the Danger Room have helped them become very aware of how the other thinks, how the other will react in any given fight situation.

Cecilia's body transforms to a translucent green, and the energy begins to extend from her body, her hands growing into giant weapons in the form of large, spiked fists. The machines before her let loose with repulsor rays from their eyes and palms, but the blasts simply deflect off Cecilia's body and actually end up striking one of the Sentinels down. The remaining three advance on their prey, but Cecilia thrusts her fists forward, sending the machines flying through the air, away from her and outside through the large gap in the front entrance of the Xavier Institute.

Behind Cecilia, Beast growls - albeit, tamely, never one to give in too much to his animal instincts - at the Sentinels as they charge their weapons, preparing to singe every last bit of blue fur off the original X-Man's body. He leaps forward, claws clearly visible in the dim moonlight shining down on the battle, and pushes two of the cyborgs to the ground while barely dodging an energy blast from the third. Beast jumps lightly and places his hands on the ground, using his feet to kick the third Sentinel away and send it crashing into the nearby wall.

"Watch it, Hank," comes a female voice as Beast suddenly sees two Sentinels to his right get swept away in a blur of green energy spikes. He turns to see his lady love standing before him, still in her translucent form, a grin on her face. "Well, I finally got that whole 'separate the energy from the body' thing down."

"You did, my dear," Beast says with a proud nod, and he gives Cecilia a quick peck on the check before they both rush off towards another conglomeration of Sentinels.

Nearby at the mansion's grand staircase, Phoenix holds her crying daughter in her arms, protecting herself and the child with a telekinetic shield while knocking away the more than half-dozen Sentinels advancing towards them. Phoenix is one of the most powerful X-Men, the cyborgs know this, hence why so many of them are opting to go after her. With great power, though, comes the need for concentration and especially caution, lest that power get out of control.

Phoenix doesn't care about that now, though. These monsters are trying to kill her _daughter_, and that's just unacceptable.

"You people have thrown your lives away," Phoenix calls out to the five remaining Sentinels as their eyes and hands begin to glow furiously with energy. "You've sold your souls to the Devil himself, and for what? I'm sorry, but there's only one way to stop you..."

"Somebody shut that bitch up," one of the Sentinels says in a cold, mechanical voice, letting out a plasma energy blast and striking Phoenix's shield. The blast has no effect, but still the others follow suit and let loose with their own energy blasts. Phoenix easily deflects the second wave of attacks, and decides now is the time to finish the quintet off.

In a split second, the five Prime Sentinels are floating in the air above Phoenix. They've lost all control over themselves and are completely at the mercy of the female X-Man. Despite the fact that they are machines, their human minds remain intact, and right now, they are very, very scared.

{Like I said before, there's only one way to stop you,} Phoenix says, her voice booming loudly inside the cyborgs' heads. With but a thought, she begins to worm her way inside each on of their bodies... hooking her mind onto every nerve ending, every electric wire, every cell and psynapse still inside them... and then she begins to tear them all apart.

"Rest in pieces," is all Phoenix says before she tears the five Sentinels apart, sending mechanical body parts flying every which way. As the steel limbs drop to the ground, Phoenix feels a painful nudge inside her mind before regaining her composure - and realizing what she's just done. Except, she doesn't even remember doing it.

"Oh no... no no no..." Phoenix says, and she crumbles to the stairs, tears starting to flow from her eyes as she clutches her daughter tightly. "What happened...?"

Unbeknownst to her, a lone Sentinel creeps her way, weapons charged and, thanks to Phoenix's shields being down, able to kill her. Suddenly, though, a bolt of red energy in the form of an arrow rips through the machine and it topples to the ground and to the bottom of the staircase, catching Phoenix's attention. As she looks up, Phoenix sees Moonstar and Bolt rushing towards her, and behind the two of them she can see that the battle has pretty much come to a halt.

"Jean, are you all right?" Moonstar asks, and the young Cherokee woman takes baby Rachel into her arms as Bolt helps Phoenix to her feet. "Jean, come on... it's alright. We've pretty much taken care of the Sentinels. What happened to you?"

Phoenix says nothing as the trio walks down the staircase and over to the gathering of Beast, Cecilia, Skin, Peter, and Jacqueline in the middle of the foyer, and almost immediately they are joined by Kwannon, Marrow, Erica, and Cameron, all returning from outside. "Sorry, your front lawn is a mess," Cameron quips, giving Beast an apologetic look. "So what now?"

"First, is everyone all right?" says Moonstar, and every indicates in one way or another that they are. Erica asks Peter and Jacqueline again herself, wanting to make sure they haven't been hurt; she's become somewhat attached to those two and couldn't bare it if she failed to protect them.

"Jean's kind of out of it," Bolt says, holding Phoenix up in his arms. "She really went crazy with her powers... did any of you see it...?"

"Christopher, get her down to the med-lab, I'll be there momentarily," Beast orders his teammate, and the young man does as he's told and goes off towards the elevator to the lower levels. Turning back to everyone else, Beast continues, "I don't think we should leave this place empty. Christopher, Jean, obviously Peter and Jacqueline, and... myself will be staying here. Just in case more of those things return... we can't afford them confiscating any of our technology."

"Hank..." Cecilia begins, but Beast silences her with a tender finger to her lips, knowing what she's going to say.

"We'll be fine, Cecilia. Trust me. The rest of you must get to Seattle at once, those mutant captives may not have much time." Before turning his back to the group and signalling for them to follow, Beast quickly surveys the damage around him. It's going to be a bitch to fix this place up again, he thinks.

"Come on, it's time to suit up. I've got brand-new uniforms waiting for you downstairs..."

* * * * *

She watches the captured mutants from over one hundred feet above the ground, looking out from behind the gate of the vent shaft she's currently occupying. She's more anxious than ever to get this show on the road, to take down Creed and his people, and set her fellow mutants free. She can't say she's hurt by Callisto's death, she didn't even know the woman, but seeing the brutal treatment these prisoners are enduring is more than enough to fuel her fire.

In the pale, dim light, her long, silky black hair and milk-white skin is slightly visible, but it's not like anyone can see her anyway. No one even knows she's here, and it's just her luck that she was able to get inside the compound undetected. She may not have some fancy offensive mutant ability, but nonetheless, things usually work out the way she wants them to.

She takes a gun from the holster around her waist and holds it in front of her, positioning the barrel outside the vent gate and aiming it at the head of Graydon Creed. "Alright, scumbag," she mutters softly, "time to die for Auntie Domino."

* * * * *

Continued in _Annual #2_, "The Domino Effect"


	3. Annual 2

**Summary:** Issues _#21-22_ & _Annual #2_ - _Humanity's Sanction_. The X-Men's final showdown with Graydon Creed and the Friends of Humanity!

**Notes:** This is it, the big annual, the last part of _Humanity's Sanction_. More gore and some naughtier language this time. 

**Cast:** Phoenix, Beast, Cecilia Reyes, Bolt, Moonstar, Marrow, Kwannon, Skin, Domino, Ever, Forearm, Erica Shen, Cameron Dalin, Peter Valentino, Jacqueline Chandler, Graydon Creed, Prime Sentinels; also with Callisto, Neophyte, Unuscione, Phantazia, Ruckus, and Sunpyre.

**Original Post Date:** December 2001

**Disclaimer:** The X-Men belong to Marvel Comics and are used in this story solely for non-profit entertainment purposes.

* * * * * 

  


"The Domino Effect"  
Humanity's Sanction Conclusion

  


* * * * *

**_The Xavier Institute_**

Just hours ago, the main foyer of the mansion was torn through, leaving a gaping hole in the front of the X-Men's home. Now, the rubble still lays all about the floor, and it's not a simple mess that can be cleaned up easily, nor can the damage be repaired without some serious time and effort and, of course, money put into it. Well, that'd normally be the case... but lucky for the mutants that inhabit the estate, their home will be good as new in no time at all.

Jean Grey, Phoenix, one of the original X-Men, is perhaps the most powerful telekinetic on the face of the Earth, not to mention her vast telepathic abilities and the fact that she served as the template for a cosmic energy being that more or less unlocked Jean's full potential, which was originally mistaken for the being's own powers. For the past couple months, Jean's noticed herself having tremendous mood swings, and just earlier today, it was finally witnessed by her friends and teammates when she lashed out at Marrow. Then there was the instance just an hour or two ago when she tore apart five Prime Sentinels with but a thought. These mood swings seem to be accompanied by bursts of energy that are especially astonishing to Jean's longtime friend Henry McCoy, who observes her current display of telekinetic power as he's never seen it before.

Telekinesis means 'mind over matter'. Everything that exists, whether it be a human being, a plant, a picture on the wall, even the air we breathe, is made of up some form of matter, and that means, conceivably, Jean can manipulate reality as she sees fit. Of course, she herself has never displayed that kind of power; it's almost unfathomable. Or is it?

Molecule by molecule, Jean latches onto the rubble lying around her with her mind, and closes her eyes to concentrate as she moves it all towards the hole in the front wall, slowly piecing everything back together as it was before the Prime Sentinels attacked. She can feel the strain on her mind, but it's nowhere near as bad as she thought it'd be, and she keeps going. She can see it perfectly in her mind, how the front wall of the mansion looks; that's a benefit of being a telepath, you remember everything _perfectly_. So now it's just a matter of working from her own thoughts and reconstructing the wall exactly as it was.

As all the rubble comes together and reforms within the hole, a couple drops of sweat form on Jean's forehead. The strain still isn't too bad, and she opens her eyes to see that her task is finally completed. The wall, the doorway, the pictures, the light fixture, everything is back is place, just as it was. Jean hesitates a moment before letting the matter free of her mind, then exhales deeply as she lifts a hand to wipe her brow.

"Done," she says, looking over her work. "I almost didn't want to let go, I was afraid everything might fall apart again as soon as I did..."

"Jean," Hank interjects, "do you realize what you've just done? You've never displayed this kind of power before! I emplore you to venture down to the med-lab with me... I must run some tests. This sudden increase in power is rather unsettling, especially considering you more or less fainted not too long ago."

"Hank, just back off!" Jean snaps at her friend without really meaning to, but she's tired of being coddled. She hates being the damsel in distress who's always passing out, though she can feel now that those days are over. She knows Hank means well, they've been friends for so long, but she won't be treated like a child, like she doesn't know what she's doing, how she's feeling, or how far to push herself.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to get all bitchy," Jean says with a faint smile, turning to lock eyes with her blue-furred companion. She takes his hand in her own and he gives it a squeeze to signal his forgiveness. "It's just that... I feel amazing, Hank! I feel better than ever. It's like some parts of me that have been dormant for so long are finally awake... I don't know why... I can't even describe it."

"I would never dare to imply that I'm more an expert on your powers and feelings than you," Hank replies, "but you have to understand my astonishment at the feat you just performed. I would like to run some tests, at your behest, just to make sure there are no abnormalities."

Jean nods and replies, "Alright, Hank. You're right, that would be a good idea, just to be safe."

"Shall we return to the lower levels, then? I also want to check in on the others, see how they're doing..."

"You go ahead," Jean says, "I'll be along shortly."

Hank nods and turns to head off down the hall, while Jean turns her attention back to the wall she just reconstructed, molecule by molecule, with her mind. She feels bad that she just lied to Hank, but there's enough going on right now, she doesn't need to burden him - or anyone else - with what might potentially be another problem. Unlike what she said to her friend, Jean doesn't feel amazing, better than ever... she feels _scared_.

She also lied about not knowing how or why her powers are getting stronger... in fact, she has a very good idea of the cause. _Him_. Maybe it has something to do with the illusion he cast over her - over everyone - while his powers were amplified by the Legacy Virus. It has to, she thinks, because that's when she had her first major burst of power - when she killed Sinister. After that is also when the mood swings started.

It all has to be connected somehow. She can even feel him in the back of her mind, doing all of this, but what she can't figure out is... why? Why would he do this? Hasn't he put her through enough?

Employing her telekinesis once more, Jean turns off the grand chandelier hanging from the tall ceiling above her, and just stands still in the darkness for a moment. Staring blankly into space, she softly says, "Jesus Christ, Charles... what are you doing to me...?"

* * * * *

**_Seattle, Washington_**

The vent gate flies off and away from the cold steel walls, and before any of the occupants of the massive holding cell room can look upwards to give notice, a dark female figure leaps forth into the air, a gun in each hand, blasting at anything that she perceives to be the enemy - namely, anyone not in one of the mutant containment cells. She's got about one hundred feet before she hits the ground, too, so she better make each shot count.

Her mutant power is luck itself, meaning things usually turn out in her favor. Perhaps that's why she gets so many good shots in, disabling several of the guards scattered about the floor before they even have a chance to reach for their weapons. As she falls towards the floor, guns still blazing, she has a hint of an urge to yell something out, to really let everyone know she's here, and who she is, too. "Fire in the hole!"... that's what Cable would probably say. "Domino's arrived, boys, and your luck's just run out!"... too campy. Much too campy. What is she, a human being or a comic book character?

Domino lands on the dirty concrete ground with no problem, and proceeds to disarm and neutralize the half-dozen other guards she missed while in the air. She can't blame herself, really, there's so many of them. Probably because _he's_ still in the room.

"CREED!" she yells into the air, her voice shrill with anger. She hears the loud clatter of footsteps behind her and turns to see her target high-tailing it out of the room, a small contingent of guards surrounding him on all sides. "Dammit," she mutters, knowing she won't be able to get at him. Not without following him, that is, and she can't afford to do that now. She's got to free the captives.

"The control panel!" comes a booming male voice from one of the higher-up mutant prisoners. Domino glances upward to see Michael McCain, Forearm, grasping onto the bars of his cage with all four of his hands, looking down at her. "Domino, hit the control panel by the exit!"

As two more human guards rush towards her, Domino turns her attention back to the exit and fires off the weapon in her right hand at the aforementioned control panel, then uses the same weapon to crack one of the oncoming men across the back of the head. As he falls to the ground, his partner leaps at Domino, but is downed with a swift, flawless roundhouse kick to his abdomen. As the two men moan in pain at Domino's feet, all the cages holding the mutant captives short-circuit and open, freeing the prisoners at last. Those who can fly snatch non-flyers from the high up cells and bring them to the ground, while others climb down, help each other, and after several minutes, everyone is assembled on the floor, all eyes on Domino.

Before speaking, the former co-leader of X-Force takes a gander at the awesome assemblage of mutants. She recognizes - and dislikes - a lot of them, but they all know as well as she that this isn't the time to bicker and fight amongst themselves. They're all fighting a common enemy, and they've got to work together if they all want to get out of here alive.

Addressing the mass crowd around her, Domino's voice echoes throughout the massive room as she says, "Alright people, listen up. We're about a mile underground, and it's not gonna be easy getting out considering there's a whole freaking Prime Sentinel factory right above us. We've all got to work together to get out of here. So, quickly..."

Domino is cut off as the ceiling a hundred feet above the mutants begins to rumble violently, and moments later, it starts to split open. Within seconds, chunks of concrete are raining down on the assembly and manage to down several of the escapees, but a good number of them activate their mutant powers, either shielding themselves and others from the falling debris or obliterating it with energy blasts of various kinds.

The rest of the ceiling seems to merely disintegrate, but that's hardly a good thing, as what the mutants see in the wake of its destruction chills them to the bone. A veritable army of Prime Sentinels - hundreds of them. Domino herself takes a deep breath and swallows hard, knowing things are about to get ugly. However, she's feeling real lucky tonight.

Adjusting then tightening the grip on the weapons occupying her hands, she mutters, "Alright, you motherfuckers... come get some."

* * * * *

**_The Blackbird_**

"How're we doing time-wise, Mister Dalin?" Cecilia Reyes asks as she leans over the shoulder of the young Cuban man co-piloting the aircraft with Moonstar.

"ETA ten minutes, _Miss Reyes_," Cameron replies somewhat sarcastically. He's not really into formalities.

"You're pretty good at this," Moonstar comments to her co-pilot, letting her lips curl into a slight grin.

"I got my pilot's license when I was seventeen, so I've got a lot of experience," Cam replies, smiling at Dani.

Turning away from the cockpit, Cecilia returns to the gathering of X-Men in the passenger area of the plane. "Alright, ten minutes, people. Let's hope the good Lord is with us tonight," she says.

"Listen to this... Cookie Monster decides to stay behind instead of leading his team like he should, and his girlfriend thinks she's in charge," Marrow says with a sneer. She sits alone at the end of one of the bench seats lining the plane's walls, scraping two bone daggers together in an effort to sharpen them.

"Zip it, _perra_, or so help me God..."

Cecilia is cut off by her teammate Kwannon, who places a calming hand on her shoulder. "Cecilia, I know she's aggravating, but don't get all riled up for nothing. Conserve your energy for the fight." Kwannon turns to lock eyes with Marrow. "Marrow, please, behave yourself," is all she says to the pink-skinned X-Man.

The bickering complete, Erica changes the subject and asks, "Cecilia, what did Henry say these uniforms were made out of again?"

"An amalgamation of leather, kevlar, and unstable molecules," Cecilia says, referring to the new outfits: form-fitting black pants, gray, ribbed long-sleeve shirts with yellow X's centered on the chest, knee-high black boots, black gloves, and black jackets with yellow X's emblazoned on the shoulders. Save for Marrow, who's opted to stick with her blue and green leotard, everyone onboard the aircraft wears the same uniform, and Cecilia can't help but think that, for the first time since she's met them, the X-Men look like a real team and not a bunch of crazy mutants trying to play super-hero.

"They're impact-resistant, regulate body temperature, and, as you can tell, are much more comfortable than they look. Hank's brilliant, I know," Cecilia continues, grinning at the fact that the X-Men's blue-furred genius is also the man she loves. She wishes he was here, though, and she can't help but worry if more Prime Sentinels will attack the mansion while the rest of them are in Seattle.

"So how many of those Sentinels you think are gonna be waitin' for us?" inquires Skin, who sits across from Marrow, his hands resting behind his head against the wall.

"The Friends Of Humanity have a whole Sentinel factory in their compound," Erica informs, "so expect many times more than what we faced at the mansion."

"Great," Skin mutters, and he gazes around until he locks eyes with Marrow, who winks at him.

Marrow half-whispers to him, "Cheer up, Gumby Gray. It'll be fun."

"Hey, guys," Moonstar calls from the cockpit, "Hank just called over the comm-link and I let him know we're almost there. Good news - Ororo's team is on their way to help us, though Kurt and Scanner will be heading for the mansion just in case."

"So we've got back-up here and at home. Thank God," Cecilia says, letting out a sigh of relief, though that relief is short-lived.

"Holy...!" Cameron doesn't complete his sentence, instead he and all those up front just gaze in shock at the horde of Prime Sentinels that have suddenly popped into view, hovering in the sky all around the Blackbird and charging their weapons. "Shit, they've surrounded us!"

"Well then take us down, now!" Cecilia commands, and then she turns swiftly and motions for all the passengers to get up and follow her to the exit ramp. "Cam, Dani, you two get this pájaro on the ground... the rest of you, I'm gonna lower us down."

"And just how the hell are you gonna do that?" Marrow says venomously, placing a clenched fist on her hip, as Kwannon opens the ramp.

Cecilia rolls her eyes as she transforms her body into green, translucent energy and uses it to start forming a riding platform, similar to one of Iceman's ice-slides. "Like this, girlfriend. Now come on, let's move!"

And with that, Cecilia and her four passengers cruise out of the Blackbird and through the air, down towards the Friends Of Humanity complex.

* * * * *

**_The Control Room_**

"Mister Creed!" calls the voice of a guard as he rushes into the safety room currently being occupied by his superior and a half-dozen armed men. "Mister Creed, the X-Men are here."

"Well then release the fucking Sentinels!" Graydon says with a scowl on his face. "I want those freaks _decimated_!"

"Sentinels have already surrounded them, they'll be disposed of in no time," the guard assures, retaining his composure despite Creed's intimidating presence.

"Excellent. Get back to your station," Graydon orders. As the guard turns to leave the room, Creed calls out to him, "Oh, Cantera, if the mutant called Nightcrawler is among the X-Men, I want him brought to me... I'll take him out myself."

* * * * *

**_The Xavier Institute_**

Chris Bradley and Peter Valentino wander the underground second sub-basement level of the mansion, as Chris has been showing Peter all around the mansion for the past half-hour or so. They've just gotten off babysitting duty for Rachel, who's now with her mother and Hank in the medlab, and Peter's anxious to see every inch of the place he just might end up calling home from now on.

"This," Chris says, as the two young men enter the control booth to the high-tech gymnasium on the other side of the reinforced glass panels, "is the Danger Room. It's where everyone trains and learns to use their mutant powers. It uses hard-light holograms to make all these different battle scenarios... it's pretty much like the ultimate video arcade brought to life."

"'Danger Room'? Heh, sweet," Peter says with a chuckle. "So, don't just tell me... I wanna see this for myself."

Chris hesitates, knowing that he might get in trouble, but he doesn't care... he knows how to work the Danger Room program just fine, he's not some careless little kid. "Alright, so... what program should I do..." Chris says to himself, while Peter stands by patiently.

"How about Britney Spears being mauled to death by midgets with ice-picks?" Peter suggests, earning him a 'what the hell?' look from Chris. "What?"

"I think you found Bobby's bong and took a few hits," Chris says with a chuckle, shaking his head. "Here... I know what I'll do..."

"I know a bong I'd like to hit," Peter mumbles to himself, focusing on his new friend's backside. Clearing his throat and moving his eyes elsewhere, he asks, "So who's Bobby?"

"You'll meet him once everyone gets home. He's really great... kind of like an older brother to me. You'll like him," Chris says as he works on programming the Danger Room.

Peter asks, "Is he cute?"

Chris doesn't know how to reply to that. "Um... I don't know..."

"Oh, sorry... my bad," the young shape-shifter apologizes. "Sometimes I say things without thinking."

"It's no biggie," Chris says. "Okay, so here we go..."

In a matter of seconds, the bare, steel-walled room begins to be replaced by an amazingly detailed alien landscape that literally melts into existence, and Peter can only stare in awe at the sight before him. He's never seen anything so incredible.

"Holy crap," is the only response Chris gets, and he almost laughs at the goofy, dumbfounded look on Peter's face. "That's too freakin' cool!"

"I know, right?" Chris responds. "I felt like I was on drugs the first time I saw it. You wanna go down there?"

"Hell yeah."

Using the newly-installed elevator in the control booth, the two young men are lowered into a room several dozen feet below them, and then exit the room through a door that leads directly into the Danger Room, which now resembles a royal Shi'ar ballroom. Peter stands in awe, gazing all around him, astonished at how real everything is.

"So what's this place supposed to be?" Peter asks.

"I think it's the ballroom of the main Shi'ar citadel, but I'm not sure," Chris says. "It's Shi'ar _something_, though."

"Shi'ar?"

"Yeah, some alien empire or whatever... Professor Xavier was shacked up with their empress for a while," Chris says matter-of-factly.

"_Aliens?_" Peter half-exclaims. The surprises just keep coming. "You've met real aliens?"

Chris grins. "Well not me personally... but I'll tell you everything I know..."

* * * * *

**_Seattle_**

Outside the former psychiatric hospital now serving as the homebase of the Friends Of Humanity, five X-Men face seemingly impossible odds - an army of dozens upon dozens of Prime Sentinels. All completely sentient, with their innate killer instincts at the forefront, guiding them in their mission to oblierate all of mutantkind. Cecilia Reyes, the women called Marrow and Kwannon, Angelo Espinosa, also called Skin, and Erica Shen are in for the fight of their lives, lives which may not last for much longer.

At the mansion, things were different - the fighting quarters were more enclosed, and the X-Men's numbers were almost equal to the Sentinels. So they held back. Now, though, the situation is much more dire - there are possibly hundreds of mutants inside the Sentinel compound that are about to be exterminated, and the X-Men are the only ones who can stop that from happening. Therefore, they _can't hold back_, not even a little. They have to fight as brutally as the cold-hearted machines surrounding them are going to.

Cecilia is the first to strike. Forming a spiked layer of armor around her body, and morphing her fists into large mallets, she instantly pummels through a dozen Prime Sentinels, all by herself. Growing up in the Bronx, she had to fight to survive every day, and now those lessons she learned on the streets are all flooding back to the forefront of her mind. Nothing and no one is going to stop her now, and she makes that crystal clear as she smashes through another handful of her would-be assailants, sending them flying into the air, fried circuits sparking in the dim moonlight.

Marrow's entire life has been a never-ending battle, and being raised in a hellish dimension populated by demons where war is the way of life has made her into a force to be reckoned with. Using her enhanced strength, amazing fighting skills, and razor-sharp bone daggers, Marrow wastes no time in tearing into the cyborgs. None of them can even get a good shot in before being hacked to pieces by their target, and the entire time, Marrow wears a maliciously grin on her face. She's loving every minute of this, though she's hoping for something a bit more challenging and bit more dangerous to show up soon.

Kwannon has never been big on using her mutant abilities to fight, but now is not a time to act tough and rely solely on her extensive martial arts skills. She takes a small rod from her belt and presses the button in the middle of it, releasing two long, sharp-edge blades on either side. As it charges with a yellow-orange energy, Kwannon whips it around her head, instantly nailing four Prime Sentinels in one fell swoop. She proceeds to blast down some of the machines hovering above her in the air, then follows up with a few roundhouse kicks. It bothers her, how good it feels to be this ruthless, as these are the fighting tactics she learned from Sinister; he's still not completely out of her system.

Skin's been waiting for a way to channel all his pent-up rage in a positive way, and now his chance has come. As he pushes his powers to the limit, stretching farther and faster than ever before and wrapping his arms around the machines, he thinks back over the past couple months... his near-death experience with the Legacy Virus wasn't pleasant, but for him, the entire situation with Paige and Jono still makes his blood boil. _Second best_. What a bitch. It was a great idea for him to leave the Massachusetts Academy, that was the first step in him getting over the situation; now, he just wants to kick some Prime Sentinel ass.

Erica is perhaps the most unique player currently on the field, being completely human. Using two plasma-energy guns given to her by Beast, she blasts down as many Prime Sentinels as she can, and she doesn't let up, not even for a second. Watching her, one would think she has a personal stake in all of this, and she does - she watched her very own sister get gunned down by these monstrosities back when Operation Zero Tolerance was in effect. She's vowed to do everything she can to make sure no more innocent people - human _or_ mutant - die at the hands of these machines.

The five X-Men fight valiantly, and for the initial part of the battle, they do a hefty amount of damage and succeed in depleting the Prime Sentinels' ranks significantly. The tables turn, though, as even more of the machines soar out of the Friends Of Humanity compound, and it seems for every one of them that's been destroyed, two more have appeared to take their place.

"Just great," Cecilia says, her eyes wide with worry, as the Sentinels in the sky hover above her and her teammates. Their weapons charged, the cyborgs rain down a storm of plasma energy on the mutants, and while Cecilia manages to shield herself along with Marrow and Kwannon, Skin and Erica are not so lucky, taking several hits that down them instantly.

"THERE'S TOO MANY OF THEM!" Kwannon yells over the deafening sound of the blasts striking against Cecilia's psioplasmic force-field. "WE CAN'T TAKE THEM BY OURSELVES!"

"LOOKS LIKE WE WON'T HAVE TO!" Marrow shouts in response, motioning for her teammates to look up into the sky. What they see makes all three of them crack a smile: the Blackbird zooms through the air, shooting down Prime Sentinels left and right. The attack gives the three X-Men the opening they need to get to their fallen comrades, and they instantly take advantage of it, rushing to Erica and Skin, Cecilia extending her force-field to cover the two of them.

Kwannon leans down by both Skin and Erica and takes their pulse and checks to see if they're still breathing. "They're alive," she finally says, and Cecilia takes a quick glance upward to see the Blackbird still hard at work, though they seem to be loosing their advantage over the Sentinels.

"Dammit, Storm, where are you?" Cecilia mutters before kneeling down by Erica. "Kwannon, the boy should be fine, Hank told me his skin is six feet thick, so the blasts won't have hurt him as much... sit him up and get him one of the water supplement pills from your utility belt."

"What about her?" Marrow asks, surprising her teammates with a hint of concern in her tone.

"The uniform saved her life, but she still took some damage. We need to get her out of here."

"Well that obviously ain't happenin' anytime soon..."

_"Guys, we've gotta land the Blackbird, the Sentinels have damaged it too much,"_ comes the voice of Moonstar over the small communicators imbedded in the X-Men's gloves, _"but don't worry about us covering you, because the cavalry's just arrived!"_

"Dani, what are you talking about..." Kwannon's question is answered as a large explosion emanates from the Friends Of Humanity compound, and the small squad of X-Men all turn their heads to see a billow of smoke pouring out of the building, followed by a sight that lifts all their spirits - a mass gathering of mutants charging forth, powers and tempers flaring, immediately unleashing themselves upon the Prime Sentinels.

"I bet they were all prisoners... I wonder how they escaped?" Kwannon ponders, as Cecilia turns her attention back to Erica.

"Who cares... Healer, drop the freakin' shield, I'm goin' back out there!" Cecilia does as she's asked and opens a hole in her force-field to let Marrow out.

"I should go as well... you take care of them, Cecilia," Kwannon says with a nod right before heading out after Marrow. The gap in the force-field closes back up, and Cecilia taps her wrist communicator.

"Dani, Cameron, if you can, try and land as close to me as possible... I have two wounded down here, and one of them needs _immediate_ medical attention..."

* * * * *

"MARROW!"

The familiar man's voice startles Marrow, and for a moment she stops hacking away at the Prime Sentinels and turns to see one of the few people on this planet she might actually call a friend - the former Morlock and Gene National called Ever.

"Ev... Ever?" she says with a gasp, not expecting to see him here. "Did those flatscans...?!"

"I'm fine, Sarah, I'm fine," Ever says, reluctantly giving Marrow a hug. She pulls out quickly, not being one for sentiments. "Before you ask, some lady named Domino got us out... she's a friend of the X-Men's."

"Figures," Marrow says with a roll of her eyes. She turns to see a Prime Sentinel lunging for her and immediately throws a bone dagger right at it, piercing it through the chest. "Any more of us that got taken?"

Ever is silent for a moment, but Marrow's impatient demeanor makes him talk. "Callisto... they... I'm sorry, but they killed her. That Creed guy did it himself."

Marrow's eyes literally fill with crimson red as the rage consuming her causes several blood vessels all throughout her body to pop, and she immediately storms off towards the compound. First Sabretooth helped slaughter her family... and now his filthy flatscan son has murdered the one woman who was the closest thing to a mother she's ever had. He's going to pay. Dearly.

"Marrow, WAIT!" Ever's words fall upon deaf ears, though, and before he can start off after her, there is suddenly a small explosion behind him. He turns to see Sunpyre, her body charged with scorching-hot flame, three burnt husks of Prime Sentinels laying at her feet.

"I would suggest you help us and stop standing around gossiping!" she scolds him before returning to the fray.

Ever debates internally for mere seconds whether or not he should try and find Marrow, and finally decides to let her go. She'll find Creed and kill him, he knows it. It's no less than the madman deserves. Taking a deep breath and shaking all worry from his mind, the young man turns his full attention to the battle at hand and lets loose with his vast telepathic powers.

* * * * *

**_Inside_**

The angry, scowling man in the cheap suit glares hatefully at the display monitor imbedded in the room's wall, watching as the mutants outside lay waste to his army of Prime Sentinels.

"GOD DAMMIT!"

The six guards inside the room all back away from the man who brought them together, who's not a very happy camper at the moment. Things are falling apart, nothing is going as planned... and Graydon Creed is truly losing it.

"Those fucking shitbag mutants are going to _die_ if I have to kill each and every last one of them myself!" Creed bellows, his words echoing throughout the room. He marches angrily towards one of the guards and grabs the man's weapon from him, and then Graydon heads towards the room's exit.

"I'm sorry, sir, but that's not a good idea," another guard says, stepping in front of his boss to block the exit. "You're gonna get killed."

No one tells Graydon Creed what to do, even if they mean well, and the Friends Of Humanity's leader demonstrates that clearly as he opens fire on the guard, striking the man down with three bullets to the chest. The other guards shudder with fear and don't dare to try and stop Creed, though in a few minutes, it won't have mattered anyway.

Without warning, the vent gate embedded in the baren room's ceiling right above the exit crashes to the floor, startling Graydon back several feet. He scowls angrily and readies his weapon, but before he even sees who the intruder is he finds himself impaled with two sharp bone daggers, one piercing him straight through the heart. The gun in his hand hits the floor just seconds before he does, and as the thick, crimson blood begins to flow from Creed's dead body, the imposing, grisly form of Marrow drops down from the ventilation shaft.

"That was too easy," Marrow snickers, pulling out two more bone daggers from her back. "Hey boys. Let's dance."

The five guards waste no time and open fire on the psychotic mutant, pumping her with enough bullets to kill dozens of men. Marrow's shrieks can't be heard over the loud sound of the gunfire, but from the expression on her face, one might almost think that she's enjoying this.

After Marrow has fallen to the ground, the guards cease fire and step towards the X-Man with extreme caution; too bad that doesn't mean much when dealing with this particular mutant. Before any of the men can react, Marrow jumps up from the floor and howls an inhuman howl, and begins to hack the five men to pieces, painting the cream-colored walls with their blood.

If she's going down, she's taking as many flatscans with her as possible.

* * * * *

"Cecilia!" Moonstar calls as she runs down the ramp of the Blackbird, Cameron right behind her. "How are they?"

Cameron rushes to his partner's side, kneeling and taking her hand in his. "Erica? Erica, you okay?"

Erica manages a half-smile and squeezes the young man's hand. "I'll live, don't worry," she assures him.

Cecilia helps Skin to his feet, as a few familiar faces approach the X-Men - namely Domino, Forearm, and Ever. Domino immediately greets Moonstar, happy to see her old friend is alive and well.

"Looks like you're back on the side of the angels," Domino comments. "Good to see you, Dani. I expected the X-Men to show up at some point, I just wasn't aware you'd signed up."

"Long story," Moonstar replies. "What're you doing here? Did they capture you?"

"Are you kidding me?" Domino says with a grin. "Of course not. I've actually been investigating these people for months... and I finally got my chance to sneak in and bust everyone loose."

"Good to see you again, Dani," says the hulking Forearm as he walks up beside Domino.

"You too, Michael." Moonstar's reply is swift, as she doesn't want to dwell on their past. "If you could, please help Cecilia with carrying my injured teammate onto the Blackbird."

Forearm does as he's asked while Moonstar, Domino, and Skin watch on as the mass assemblage of mutants finishes off the last of the Prime Sentinels. It'll be a bittersweet victory, they know, as they can already see many dead mutant bodies sprewn about the landscape.

"Excuse me, we have to get inside," Ever suddenly cuts in, grabbing the three individuals' attention. "Graydon Creed's still in there... and Marrow went after him!"

"Oh for crying out loud," Moonstar says, frusterated. "Dom, and you," she says, motioning towards Ever, "let's get in there and find her before she does something stupid."

* * * * *

**_Ten minutes later_**

Moonstar, Domino, and Ever rush down the massive corridors inside the Friends Of Humanity compound with no idea of exactly where they're going. Ever's been trying, but he can't get a telepathic fix on Marrow, and though he doesn't show it, that worries him.

"Wait," Domino suddenly says, stopping her companions. "The safety room. It's where they'd take Creed if he was in any danger."

"How do we get there?" Moonstar asks intently.

Domino studies their surroundings for a moment and focuses on recalling the blue prints she studied of the facility. They don't go to their left... that'll take them back outside. Going straight ahead will take them to the underground areas, and that's not where the safety room is, oddly enough. Domino suddenly takes off down the corridor to the right, and Moonstar and Ever follow suit. "This way!"

After a few minutes of running and turning corners, the trio arrives at a half-open steel door leading into a room with an awful stench inside. Ever pushes the door all the way open and he steps inside first, gazing around at the horror before him. It's enough to make Moonstar and Domino throw up, but Ever's seen this kind of mayhem all his life, so it doesn't phase him as much.

The first body they see is Graydon Creed's, two razor-sharp bone daggers impaled through his chest. That's hardly the worst of it, though; around the rest of the room, blood and innards paint the walls, while severed limbs lay about the floor surrounded by pools of blood. Despite their condition, they are all recognizable as soldiers for the Friends Of Humanity.

The last of the deceased lies in the center of the room, lying in a pool of her own and the soldiers' blood. Moonstar and company immediately rush to her side, but all they have to do is look at her to know who she is and that she's not getting up.

Moonstar didn't have any love for her, but to loose a teammate is still a shame. Taking a deep breath, Moonstar taps her wrist communicator and speaks into it, "Guys, it's Dani... we found Creed and Marrow. They're both dead."

* * * * *

Continued in the epilogue, "Ten O'Clock News"


	4. Epilogue

**Summary:** Issues _#21-22_ & _Annual #2_ - _Humanity's Sanction_. The X-Men's final showdown with Graydon Creed and the Friends of Humanity!

**Notes:** This was actually a part of the annual but I decided to separate them here, thought it would be good for there to be a break of sorts between the two.

**Cast:** Phoenix, Beast

**Original Post Date:** December 2001

**Disclaimer:** The X-Men belong to Marvel Comics and are used in this story solely for non-profit entertainment purposes.

* * * * * 

  


"Ten O'Clock News"  
Humanity's Sanction Epilogue

  


* * * * *

__

"Good evening, everyone, I'm John Wei, and welcome to UBC news at ten. Our top story tonight - anti-mutant terrorism in America. Just days ago, on the outskirts of Seattle, Washington, a gruesome battle between the outlaw mutant X-Men and the organization known as the Friends Of Humanity errupted, resulting in casualities on both sides and mass destruction that is estimated as spreading over nearly a square mile of land.

The events took place right outside of Seattle at an abandoned psychiatric hospital. Formerly the Weissman Institute For The Criminally Insane, the hospital was formed in the late 1890's, and was shut down in 1967 after losing its funding from the federal government. Details are sketchy at the present time, but authorities have confirmed that the Friends Of Humanity moved their operation into the building no less than eight months ago, and converted a mass portion of the building's interior into holding cells for mutants. Reports indicate that the Friends' operation was not sanctioned by any government agency, and all parties involved with the illegal kidnapping, abuse, and murder of the mutant captives could be facing sentences of life in prison.

However, the story gets deeper, darker, and more puzzling. Over the past month, reports of human-looking robots have been coming in all across the nation, and after the events in Seattle came to a close, authorities have been able to confirm that the reported entities are in fact Prime Sentinels, the machines once used by the defunct Operation: Zero Tolerance to hunt down and capture mutants. The Friends' use of OZT technology has led investigators to believe that there may have been a prior connection between the two organizations, dating all the way back to Graydon Creed's presidential campaign in 1996.

Speaking of the former presidential candidate, local police were shocked to find him among the many dead bodies sprewn about inside the building. In late 1996, Graydon Creed was assassinated on live national television while giving a campiagn speech, and the killer was believed to be a mutant. The coroner who examined the body at the scene determined that Creed had been dead for less than an hour, raising many questions about his supposed death five years ago. Mutant rights activists are out to prove that Creed in fact faked his own assassination as a means to strengthen anti-mutant sentiment and moved on to secretly work with the Friends Of Humanity, an organization he formed, behind the scenes.

Up until days ago, the nation was completely oblivious to the organization's operation, save for the outlaw mutant group known as the X-Men. The mutant team carried out an assault on the Friends Of Humanity headquarters which ended less than thirty minutes before local authorities arrived. Among the mutants was former Avenger and world-renowned geneticist Henry McCoy, who spoke on behalf of his fellow mutants to authorities and the press. Apparently, the X-Men learned of the Friends' activities through a sister organization that had been investigating the disappearance of mutants for the last several months. The X-Men and several of the freed mutant captives reportedly left the premises very soon after Seattle police arrived, and one eye witness claims the group took the body of a dead mutant, possibly one of their team members, with them.

Investigators are still sprawled all over the large crime scene, and have said it will take several more days to determine the approximate number of casualities. However, the estimate at this time is well over two-hundred, and some are afraid the death toll could reach as high as five-hundred once the bodies have all been collected. Mutants that did not leave the scene and that were gravely injured were rushed to Seattle hospitals for medical attention, close to three dozen total. And as for the Friends Of Humanity, about eleven members of the organization have been arrested so far, and Seattle police are busy looking for any fugitives that may have gotten away.

These events have caused an uproar across the nation, with anti-mutant sentiment dropping to an all-time low. Over the past two years, America's attitude towards mutants has slowly been changing - it started in late 1999 when the X-Men and the fugitive Thunderbolts collaborated to take down the super-human Masters Of Evil, who were responsible for the bombing of the Sears Tower in Chicago. The X-Men were also involved in stopping a few random bank robberies in Chicago, and responsible for negating the threat of mutant terrorist Magneto once again, also in 1999. Now, with the Legacy Virus cured just months ago - reportedly by mutants - and with the recent anti-mutant terrorism, the general public is feeling more sympathetic towards the genetically gifted.

Authorities will be investigating the Friends Of Humanity's entire operation for months to come, and don't see that investigation ending anytime in the near future. But there is no question that countless mutants have been the victims of prejudice that is almost comparable to the Nazi's treatment of the Jews back during World War Two. It is uncertain where we go from here, and what the long-term effects of this act of terrorism will be, but there is no doubt that the nation will have its eye on its mutant population for the time being. For even more reports on the recent mutant happenings, and to let us know what you think of all this, please log on to www.ubcnews.com.

And when we come back - Susan Miller has your five-day forecast..."

*CLICK*

Jean Grey sets the remote down next to her on the plush leather couch, sighing contently while still staring at the black television screen. On her other side sits her longtime friend Henry McCoy, in all his blue-furred glory; she turns to look at him and they lock eyes as Jean places her hand on top of his, and smiles warmly.

"Can you believe it?" Jean says. "Everything they just said... about us, about mutants... they're not scapegoating us, making us out to be the bad guys, like they always have. Even in the newspapers..."

"I know," Henry replies with a nod, "I've seen the headlines. It's been nothing short of amazing. But we still have a long way to go, Jean, I hope you realize that."

"I do, Hank, I do," Jean answers. She moves her gaze down to her right hand, locking her eyes on her wedding ring, her smile fading slightly. "We have a lot of things to do. We have to get all these new students situated... figure out what we're going to do with the likes of Unuscione and Forearm... have a burial for Marrow... find out where Charles and Scott have gone off to..."

Henry places a consoling hand on Jean's shoulder, and she looks up and into his eyes once more. "Don't worry, Jean," he assures, giving his friend's shoulder a gentle squeeze, "we're going to find them. Scott will be back, and you'll be a family again. He loves you and Rachel more than life itself, there's no way he can stay away for long."

"I... I know. Thank you, Hank," Jean says softly, and she leans in to plant a friendly kiss on his blue-furred cheek. She pulls back and then rises from her seat on the couch, heading out of the room.

"Off to bed, then?" Henry asks, as he too stands up.

"No, I'm just going to go sit in Charles' study for a while," Jean replies, walking up the steps leading out of the room. "Good night."

"Good night, Jean," Henry says. He follows Jean's lead and exits the room as well, heading in the opposite direction towards the grand staircase.

Jean quietly makes her way to her former teacher's study, careful not to make any noises that would wake the mansion's residents. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but considering the events of the past few days, everyone is extra tired and as a result turning in earlier than usual.

Jean arrives at the door to the study and uses her telekinesis to open it, and seconds later to turn on the small lamp atop the wide mahogany desk at the room's center. As the door closes behind her, Jean makes her way to the desk and sits down in the plush leather chair behind it. She once again employs her telekinesis and opens the bottom drawer on the left side of the desk, and narrows her eyes as they move from tab to tab of the many manilla folders inside. She finds the one she wants, and lifts it out, setting it on the desk in front of her.

"Alright, Charles," Jean says softly to herself as she opens the folder before her, "let's see about this mutant rights charter of yours..."

* * * * *

Continued in _#23_, "The Domino Effect"


End file.
